A senior Panamanian official on Monday said he had uncovered evidence of misconduct by a Hong Kong company, a finding that could delay or even scuttle a ports deal that has put China at loggerheads with the United States.

一位巴拿马高级官员周一表示，他发现了一家香港公司存在不当行为的证据，这一发现可能会推迟甚至取消一项已经令中美两国陷入对峙的港口交易。

Last month the Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison agreed to sell a business that encompasses 43 ports, including two in Panama, to a group led by BlackRock, a large American asset manager, for $19 billion. President Trump has said China has too much control over Panama, and the deal was seen by some policy analysts as a way to mitigate some of his concerns. China, which has exercised tight control of Hong Kong since 2020, has strongly criticized the transaction.

上个月，香港企业集团长江和记实业（简称长和）同意以190亿美元的价格，将旗下涵盖43个港口（其中包括位于巴拿马的两个港口）的业务出售给由美国大型资产管理公司贝莱德牵头的一个财团。特朗普总统曾表示，中国对巴拿马施加了太多控制，一些政策分析人士认为，这笔交易是缓解特朗普相关担忧的一种方式。自2020年以来对香港实施严格管控的中国，对这笔交易发起了强烈谴责。

In the latest twist, Panama’s controller general, an independent government official who audits public finances, said CK Hutchison had not properly renewed its contract to operate the ports in 2021 and owed the government $300 million in fees.

情况又出现了新变化。巴拿马总审计长——负责审计公共财政的独立政府官员——称长和在2021年没有妥善续签其港口运营合同，并且欠政府3亿美元的费用。

The controller, Anel Flores, said he would file a complaint with the prosecutor’s office and added that it was up to the government agency that awards port concessions to determine whether the contract with CK Hutchison was illegal.

总审计长安内尔·弗洛雷斯表示，他将向检察官办公室提出申诉，并补充称，将由授予港口特许权的政府机构决定，与长和签订的合同是否违法。

Mr. Flores’s actions could delay the deal for the two ports significantly.

弗洛雷斯的举措可能会严重拖延这两个港口的交易进程。

“The longer you drag this out, the greater the opportunity for China to meddle in the transaction,” said Benjamin Gedan, a Latin America expert who lectures at Johns Hopkins.

约翰斯·霍普金斯大学的拉丁美洲问题专家本杰明·格丹说：“这件事拖延的时间越长，中国干预这笔交易的机会就越大。”

Panama’s government could ultimately decide to take the ports away from CK Hutchison, Mr. Gedan said, and invite bids for the rights to operate them.

格丹称，巴拿马政府最终可能会决定从长和手中收回这些港口，并公开招标运营权。

BlackRock declined to comment on the controller’s actions. At a meeting held by the Economic Club of New York on Monday, Larry Fink, BlackRock’s chief executive, was asked whether he would do the deal without the Panamanian ports. “It’s going to be reviewed as one transaction,” he said, “as of the moment.”

贝莱德公司拒绝对总审计长的行动发表评论。周一，在纽约经济俱乐部举行的会议上，贝莱德首席执行官拉里·芬克被问及如果不包括巴拿马的港口，他是否还会进行这笔交易。“就目前而言，”他说。“这笔交易将被视为一个整体进行评估。”

CK Hutchison did not respond to a request for comment.

长和没有回应置评请求。

Mr. Trump hailed the deal when he told Congress in March that his administration would be “reclaiming the Panama Canal.”

特朗普今年3月在国会发言时称赞了这笔交易，称他的政府将“重新掌控巴拿马运河”。

CK Hutchison obtained the port concessions in 1997 and renewed the contract in 2021 for 25 years. Mr. Flores, the controller, said his office, then led by someone else, had not approved the renewal.

长和于1997年获得了港口特许权，并在2021年将合同续签了25年。总审计长弗洛雷斯表示，当时他的办公室——负责人还不是他——并未批准此次续约。

Mr. Flores announced in January that he was auditing the agreement with CK Hutchison as Mr. Trump took office. Panama’s government has pushed back against Mr. Trump’s assertions that the Panama Canal belongs to the United States or that it is controlled by China.

今年1月特朗普就任时，弗洛雷斯宣布他正在对与长和的协议进行审计。巴拿马政府驳斥了特朗普有关巴拿马运河属于美国或由中国控制的说法。